Ferrari have doubled down on their insistence that no strategy error was made during the French Grand Prix by claiming they were made to look bad by the live Formula 1 broadcast.
The Italian team attracted widespread ridicule during the race when already under pressure after Charles Leclerc crashed out. With Carlos Sainz their only hope of a podium finish after that incident, the Spaniard looked on course to achieve that after climbing to third from the back of the grid.
He took that place after a battle with Sergio Perez which saw the two racers go wheel-to-wheel. And TV coverage showed Sainz apparently receive the message to pit during the middle of his overtake, prompting the driver to retort angrily: "Not now!"
He still took the place but later went in to the pits anyway, picking up new tyres but dropping him too far down the order to climb his way back up to third. The best Sainz could manage was a fifth-placed finish, after Ferrari decided the tyres he had would not get him to the end of the race.
Inaki Rueda, the team's strategy director, said the radio message to pit did not come at the same time as Sainz's overtake on Perez, even though that was when it was shown on TV. In reality, according to the Ferrari chief, they were much more in control than the coverage made it seem.
"The way that television production feeds the data to the viewers, it has a delay in it," said Rueda. "In this case, you saw Perez and Carlos were fighting on lap 41. We were talking to Carlos, and we saw that Carlos could not overtake Perez on the back straight, and in turn 10 we actually called Carlos in.
"Of course he was fighting with Perez. He thought he would have him the lap after, and that's why he decided to say: 'Please don't come in. Not this lap'. Now, you are watching the television live. That call came on the television feed at Turn 15, right after the pit entry – which is nonsensical, because do we call the driver so late he cannot actually react to our call?"
That defence of their strategy comes after Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto said he was "pretty sure" they made the right call. "He was short on life and wear and we thought it was risky. We don't think he had the pace to open the gap and fight second. By stopping he did the fastest lap which was another point. It was the safest and right decision," said the Italian.
And Sainz was himself okay with the decision, telling reporters: "I think the team is doing a very good job on strategy this year. At Ferrari we get super criticised for things that might be going wrong, but every time there is a moment we are discussing things, it is not a disaster like people say we are."
